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20 April 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang | Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Carla Serfontein
UFS School of Accountancy Senior Lecturer, Dr Carla Serfontein, obtained her PhD in Management Accounting.
How many chartered accountants do you know who are also PhD holders? Dr Carla Serfontein, Senior Lecturer in Management Accounting in the University of the Free State (UFS) School of Accountancy, challenged the status quo. Dr Serfontein walked across the Callie Human stage during the morning graduation session on Wednesday 19 April 2023.

Obtaining a PhD is a milestone in the career of any academic, attesting not only to being a subject matter expert with proven credibility, but also to many hours of personal sacrifice and commitment to their discipline. Individuals who hold a PhD while also being a chartered accountant (SA) are relatively scarce, but this is an ideal combination for South African accountancy academics – as they have stature both from a professional and academic perspective. The UFS School of Accountancy is fortunate to have three such individuals, including Dr Serfontein, who was recently awarded her PhD in Management Accounting.

Dr Serfontein says obtaining her PhD in her lecturing field has expanded her knowledge in the subject area. “The UFS supported me by giving me the opportunity to be supervised by two truly outstanding academics, Prof Van Aardt Smit and Dr Cornelie Crous. That, to me, was an invaluable contribution, not only in obtaining this qualification but also in the growth that I experienced on this journey.”

Prof Frans Prinsloo, Director of the School of Accountancy, says he is proud of Dr Serfontein’s achievement. “With her thesis, Cost Efficiency at South African Universities, she highlights the flaws of conventional budgeting techniques in ensuring cost efficiencies and maximising input-output relationships at South African universities.  This is indeed a ground-breaking study and holds significant implications for how universities should be managed from a financial perspective. We are proud to have individuals of Dr Serfontein’s stature in the School of Accountancy.”

News Archive

Public lecture and book launch by Prof Adam Habib
2014-07-29

The Department of Philosophy in association with Wits University Press and The Southern African Trust invites you to a public lecture and book launch on Wednesday 30 July at 15:00 in the Albert Wessels Auditorium by one of South Africa’s leading political commentators, Prof Adam Habib (see biography below). Prof Habib will discuss questions such as whether the ANC has betrayed the ideals of the struggle, and whether social democracy offers an alternative for South Africa’s future.

After the lecture the English, Afrikaans, Sesotho and isiZulu editions of his latest book, South Africa’s Suspended Revolution: Hopes and Prospects, will be for sale and light refreshments will be offered.

Translation services into Afrikaans and Sesotho will be available during his lecture and question time.

RSVP to Dirnel Casaleggio, casaleggiod@ufs.ac.za  

Short biography:
Prof Adam Habib is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Witwatersrand (Wits). He has held leadership and academic appointments at the University of Durban-Westville, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (where he was founding director of the Centre for Civil Society), the University of Johannesburg and the Human Sciences Research Council. Habib is widely recognised as one of the authoritative commentators on South Africa’s democracy and its prospects for inclusive development and social democracy. His latest book, South Africa’s Suspended Revolution: Hopes and Prospects has already made huge waves both locally and internationally. The book focuses on South Africa’s transition into democracy and its prospects for inclusive development.

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